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This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.

I'm your host, Greg Sargent.

Our slide into authoritarian rule continues.

Over the weekend, Elon Musk raged on Twitter that people at CBS's 60 Minutes deserve a long prison sentence based on a fabricated rationale.

Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted out a line saying

straight out that his presidency is above the law. And Trump nominated a dangerous new pick for

U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., someone who has echoed Trump's rhetoric about the 2020 election

being stolen from him and has elevated the idea

that DOJ should have no independence from the president. According to scholars of authoritarianism,

these are exactly the types of things that happen when a country is sliding into authoritarian rule.

Today we're talking to one of those scholars, Stephen Levitsky, co-author of a

great new piece in foreign affairs that takes stock of how far along this downward slide we currently

are. Steve, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having me. Steve, let's first talk about this

Musk tweet. Quote, they deserve a long prison sentence, Musk said, calling 60 Minutes liars who interfered in the last election.

The charge is completely fabricated, but that aside, here is Musk, a very senior influential advisor to the president,

...